Homily: Epiphany 2015 - "The Wise Still Seek Him"

On this beautiful Feast of the Epiphany, we reflect on the journey of the wise men—the magi—as they journey to the newborn king in Bethlehem.  The journey of the Magi stands for the journey that all of us must make to come to know Christ.

First of all, who were the Magi anyway?  Matthew uses the greek work “Magoi”.  And there’s been a lot of speculation about these mysterious figures: were they magicians, astrologers, astronomers, kings? 

There was a well-developed culture in the Middle East, particularly in Babylon, of astronomy: gazing up into the night sky, charting and measuring the stars.  Astrologers would try to divine messages from the movement of the stars.  Scripture is very clear that the time for astrology is passed; Christians are forbidden to have anything to do with astrology, or divination, or fortune telling.  Christians are to direct their lives, not by looking up to the stars to divine some hidden message, but by looking to the Word made flesh, and imitating him in all things.

But night after night, these Babylonian astronomers would be attentive to the movement of the stars.  And the Magi of the Epiphany story, conscious of the prophecies of Isaiah, and observing this unique celestial event sought the king, whose coming was foretold. 

I received some wonderful Christmas cards this year, and I am very grateful for the many kind cards received by parishioners here at St. Clare.  My favorite card this year, was a silhouette  of the Magi, with the bright Christmas star shining down on the newborn Christ child and the words printed underneath “the wise still seek him”.  “The wise still seek him”.  What is the definition of a wise person, the one who seeks truth and conforms his life to that truth.  The measure of our wisdom is the extent that we conform our life—our minds, hearts, and actions, to Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life.

In scripture, the opposite of the wise man is the fool.  The wise man seeks God and His Holy Will.  The fool seeks his own way.  Psalm 14 says, “the fool says in his heart, there is no God”.  The fool acts as if God doesn’t exist. 

Sin is foolishness because when we sin we ignore God and his commandments.  Plenty of foolish people not coming to Mass this weekend, because they think that whatever they are doing is more important than being faithful to the commandment of God.

So in Matthew’s Gospel we see these Magi  actively seeking the Truth.  The Magi in Matthew’s Gospel do not sit around waiting for the truth to come to them.  They set out on a quest for truth,  they move, they do something, they embark.  They saw the sign of the newborn king, and said, now we must go out, and they did. 

In the ancient world, even a trip of 100 miles was a major undertaking.  Outside of rush-hour traveling is relatively easy these days. We can drive 500 miles in a day, and maybe just need to stop a couple times to top off our coffee cups and gas tanks.

But the wise men, knowing that this was the most important journey of their lives, decided to undertake this journey over very bad roads, exposed to extreme and unpredictable weather—it might rain, it might snow, there might be a sand storm. They’d have to sleep outdoors, and there is the constant danger of robbers, brigands, and wild animals.   

But they were willing to do it.  And here is the second spiritual lesson: when you see the sign of God, you seek it, with every ounce of your being.  The quest for Christ is the most important journey.  The wise man realizes that all things are secondary to the search for God. 

In the history of the Church we see the saints doing just this: seeking not riches, comfort, or positions of power, but God above all.  We see Mother Theresa going out to the poor dying in the streets, picking them up out of the gutter, and giving them the dignity of shelter and care.  Women like Angela Merici, seeing the young people uncatechized and uneducated, organizing with other women from her neighborhood to become the teaching order of Ursuline Sisters.  John Vianney, on his knees every morning in front of the Eucharist praying for the conversion of his flock who instead of going to Church were going to the bars and brothels.  John Paul II returning to communist Poland to preach the Gospel at the risk of his own life.  Saint Clare, our patroness, who instead of living in the comfort of a castle, sought the poverty of the convent to fall in love with Jesus Christ.  The saints show us that the wise seek him, with their whole hearts.

The Magi seek Christ, they follow the star to Bethlehem  And what do they do when they find him? They prostrate themselves, and they bring him the rich and costly gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  They bring the finest things they could find, gifts worthy of a king. 

Here is another important lesson.  Once you’ve come to Christ and found him, give him your best.  The great danger in the spiritual life is to just give God the leftovers. Rather, give God your best.  Give God more time than you give to worldly distractions.  Start and end your day with prayer, turn off the television, put down the cell phone, and pray, prostrate yourself in his presence, use your finest gifts in his service.  If he’s given you a talent for art, make beautiful art for him, if its cooking, make some food for the hungry. Give God your best.

Finally, having come to Christ, giving him their gifts, Saint Matthew tells us the Magi returned to their home country by a different route.  A different route.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen said, “of course they go back a different route, you never come to Christ and go back the same way you came.”  The encounter with Christ changes you…if weren’t changed you didn’t truly encounter him.

Coming to Mass, offering God the best we have in worship, encountering him and receiving him in Holy Communion, should change us.  We are to go from this mass differently than when we came in.  Do you come to Mass expecting to be changed, hoping to be changed?  To talk differently, to choose differently, to act differently.

The Lord invites us to seek him, to find him, to encounter him, and to be changed by him. 

Today, as he comes to us in Word and Sacrament, let's promise Jesus once again that we, like the Magi, will gladly follow wherever he wants to lead for the glory of God and salvation of souls.